Politics

Last week, Hartford police released a video of one of its officers kicking a handcuffed man in the head. On Monday night, about 40 people marched from city hall to the home of the mayor to protest the police use of excessive force.

After the wildest 48 hours yet in the presidential campaign, the second debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton began in the same fashion. The two even declined the traditional handshake at the outset, setting the tenor for the evening.

And throughout the next 90 minutes, the two interrupted each other, called the other a liar and lobbed plenty of personal digs.

The state Department of Children and Families is back in the news facing sharp criticism over multiple issues. This hour, we dig into them and we'll examine what, if anything, needs to change within DCF.

When she was growing up, Dina Gilio-Whitaker was constantly asked, "How much Indian blood do you have?" She could never figure out how to respond, which is not to say she didn't know who she was.

"I knew that I was Native, I knew that I was Colville, I knew my family up there on the reservation," she said recently. "But what I grew up with was a process of not being seen and not being recognized as being Native, because I was completely out of context.

The second debate between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton promised a great deal and managed to deliver on much of it. But those expecting either to see Trump knocked out of the race or to see him dramatically reverse the current campaign momentum went away disappointed.

It could be said this meeting had the highest stakes ever for any single debate, even as it set new lows for the level of personal attacks.

Reacting to the recent release of audio of Donald Trump making vulgar comments about women, President Obama called the candidate "insecure" and said he "pumps himself up by putting other people down — not a character trait I would advise for somebody in the Oval Office."

Ahead of the second presidential debate Sunday night, the secret Donald Trump audiotape of him bragging about groping and kissing women — and let's be clear, if he did what he's bragging that he did, it would be assault — has shaken the presidential race and is reshaping the presidential map.

Yes, the majority of Trump's supporters are likely to stay with him, but any chance he had at winning over those persuadable voters might very well be gone.

Editor's note: This post contains language that is crude and explicit and that many will find offensive.

Updated 11:15 p.m. ET with comments by Trump supporters

Just two days before Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are set to meet for their second presidential debate, more damaging audio of the GOP nominee using crude language about women and how he would hit on them has surfaced.

The federal government is offering official approval for Rhode Island’s plan to toll commercial trucks on state bridges. The toll has generated opposition from the trucking industry and some businesses concerned about how the new tolls might impact the economy.

State Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti says the go-ahead from the federal government is the final step needed to move forward with the project. The tolls will be installed in 13 locations, and 34 bridges so far are slated for repairs from the toll revenue.

Juan Manuel Santos, the president of Colombia, was awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his "resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end."

The surprise announcement comes less than a week after Colombian voters delivered a shocking blow to the peace process, and the award notably excludes any leaders of the FARC guerilla group, the other side of the negotiating table.

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine clearly came into last night's vice presidential debate with the goal of making Indiana Gov. Mike Pence answer for Donald Trump's most controversial statements and policy positions. Unlike his running mate the week before, the steely Pence resisted taking the bait.

Kaine repeatedly quoted Trump's own words. Pence either ignored him, mocked him, tried a Jedi mind trick reversal or flatly denied the quotes were real. And maybe that was Kaine's real goal. The Clinton campaign is already out with a video.

Hartford police arrested Ricardo Perez and Emilio Diaz after a wild car chase that began in Hartford and ended in West Hartford back in June. But it’s what happened after the car chase that has led to a state investigation of the possible use of excessive force.

The U.S. government has charged a federal contractor with the theft of government property and removal of classified materials, including multiple top secret documents that would pose a threat to U.S. security if disclosed, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

The government produced the documents through "sensitive sources, methods and capabilities," and revealing the documents would expose those methods, the Justice Department said in a statement.

If you vote in Massachusetts, you’ve probably had a least one debate with a friend this year about whether the state should allow marijuana for recreational use.

But have you looked at the mechanics of the legal marijuana industry that ballot Question 4 would create? We’ve summarized key elements, in case you don’t have time to read all 24 pages of the proposed act before voting on Nov. 8.

Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Pence and Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine met Tuesday evening for the only vice presidential debate of 2016. Many expected the 90-minute face-off at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., to be a cordial affair, and it largely was, but each came armed with plenty of barbs to throw at the other.

Listen live on Wednesday at 9:00 am. The first vice presidential debate likely had a much smaller audience and far less excitement than the Trump-Clinton showdown. But this hour, we review some of the highlights.